myoubi

Holy staying power, Crack Van. This stuff lasted through four rounds of soapy scrubbing, and I can still smell the faintest tint of it on my wrist. What do I have to do to get this stuff off me?

 

As for the review: it was weird. It was just weird. it was both icky, slightly nauseating and then perversely nice to smell, even though I was offended I kept sniffing my wrist every five seconds. I don't think I can take that much schizophrenia from a perfume. Basically, it was more complex than the straight-up I-am-a-bakery scent that I'd expected, and it was even a little spicy and interesting; but just not for me.

 

Very weird.

Heavens! Must-hoard-never-be-without-it-again...

 

Before I switched to buying BPAL, one of my favourite scents was YSL Cinema. My only complaint was that it was a bit too heavy for me; but otherwise it was perfect, sexy without being a come-on and jim-dandy with my skin chemistry. I got attention whenever I wore it. Lots of lovely scents, but I never found anything to replace it.

 

Melisande is Cinema without that heaviness; it's a little sweeter and it's rather more subtle, toned down enough to be a daywear scent instead of just an evening one. Versatile enough to be worn anywhere if I just feel like it; subtle but not meek.

 

My most discerning sniff-tester took a whiff, thought, took another sniff, and said in a surprised tone, "Actually, that's quite nice. That... smells quite nice on you." That's the first time he's ever made a positive comment without any reservations about any of my scents. sold.

PRECONCEPTIONS: I wanted a come-do-me scent, and this seemed to fit the bill, according to prettymuch everyone...

 

IN THE BOTTLE: mm, spicy... spicy is good. okay, this is promising.

 

ON SKIN: Attack of the Vanilla! oh my goodness, this is far sweeter than I expected, and i've been really moving away from sweet scents lately. I was counting on a lot more spice here, and right now I smell like poor-quality Essence of Vanilla perfume. Oh please don't let this be another let-down...

 

...but wait! about 20 minutes after application it starts to change, and by half an hour the balance has shifted. The vanilla-sweet is still there, but it's just the mellow base to show off the spices. mmmm, I can't stop sniffing my wrist. It's not sharp or piercing in any way, and it's not aggressively sexy as I expected - but it does have that heavy-lidded languor. I'd say that it's not a girl walking out in a thong, more like a woman stretching her arms up lazily, and somehow without ever doing anything overt, making that movement incredibly sexy. Mmmmmm. keeper.

 

ETA: So aged Snake Oil is a totally different animal altogether. I recently acquired a 6-month-old bottle, and it's completely lost that SuperVanilla stage. It's a lot richer and hugs closer to my skin, and gets to the murmuring spices almost right away. Yum.

I want to wash this scent off as fast as possible so this will be brief. aquatic - yes. dark - yes. vaguely floral - yes. But something about it reminds me a little of syrup of Ipecac. It really ought to be lovely, but my skin is turning it into.. something else.

I wish I could've liked this one

This smells like insect repellant on me and then after a while it turns into lemon soap.

 

Swap!

Okay, I gave this one a second try because I figured, well, everyone else loves it so... and I do like it. I'm not over the moon, but I'm certainly happy I have a bottle. A little Dorian goes a very long way, but this time I'm getting a bit more lemon, which is nice -- it cuts the sweetsweet of the vanilla -- and while I don't get as much musk as I'd like (and a little more vanilla than I usually am a fan of) the musk comes out more on the drydown. It's a very comforting scent, and it's very English major-y on me (don't ask me why, that's just the feeling I get from it). This is good, because I am in fact a lit major. I wouldn't call it debauched, but there's definately something demure about it, the particularly manipulative way some women have of pretending ignorance of their own sexiness (which is, of course, all the more attractive). A good one for the chillier months.

at first when I smelled this leaky frimp I thought 'oh! it must be one of the voodoo blends.' then I saw the label and realised no, it's supposed to smell like this. oh.

 

I didn't get to actually try this on my skin, as the entire frimp had leaked out of the container. but based on the scent of the vial and the rest of my package, I'm not sure I'd want to.

The first time I used Hymn to Pan I wanted to tap into both sides of the scent; I was entering a new social situation and so I layered it with Road Opener, as an experiment. Didn't have time to focus properly; even so, it did something.

 

I put it on the back of my neck (for the base of my brain), and my third eye with Road opener to see a little ahead of the curve. As I was walking there I felt kind of badass, in a way I haven't felt much before -- not in an on-edge way, like you're psyching yourself up for something, but this perfectly stable sense of self-satisfaction. I sat down and was instantly more present and less shy than usual; what's more, a friend's boyfriend who'd never particularly noticed me before perked right up, and started flirting a little until she gave him a Look.

At several points in the evening, I got teeny bursts of ideas of things I Should Do to enhance a certain dynamic or get a better result from the situation. I was a lot more out-there and flirty and charming than I usually am, and I also felt a lot more attractive. So glad I bought a bottle of this -- I can't wait to see what it does for creativity.

On me: vaguely soapy. a whiff of tea, but mostly soap. blahh, must wash off.

 

On a friend's boyfriend: sex. unpushy, discreet, pure sex. when you're in an upscale lounge in New York and in walks a drop-dead gorgeous gentleman in an impeccably-tailored black suit, who glances around coolly and then goes to sit at the bar. he doesn't say anything, because he doesn't have to; all the women in the room have instinctively gone mrrrrow.

IN VIAL: quite sweet, but warm and a little spicy. Surprisingly, I quite like this! unanticipated. Smells a bit heavy though.

 

WET: still sweet, smells a bit like plum. ooh! opium!

 

DRYING: spices coming out more, the sweet is leaving. cinnamon-y? there's almost a dusty note to it. distinctly less enamored.

 

DRY: lilac, berries, opium. turns very curious on my skin -- there's an unpleasant undertone to it, a whiff of something vile or dirty-laundry esque underneath. really, really not for me.

 

 

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: goes absolutely disgusting on my skin, smells quite rank. absolutely must go.

IN VIAL: sweet floral. delicate, with lots of violet.

 

WET: has a little more spunk. the violet makes room for something that must be the tuberose. Hints of something softer underneath.f

 

DRYING: tuberose is drifting away; the lilac is coming out a -lot- more. surprisingly, I'm losing the violet.

 

DRY: pleasant, soft lilac scent, not obnoxiously floral. the violet is there, but lilac is the topnote.

 

 

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: sweet, soft, delicate floral. Nice to smell, but I don't like soft scents and I'm not a florals gal. Will pass this on to someone who will love it better.

EDIT: My skin does -weird- things when it's that time of the month again. Glad I waited -- I tried CD again today and it smelled lovely, lemony-smoke cream with enough floral to make it interesting but not enough to make me hate it. Unfortunately, my skin ate it in less than fifteen minutes. I am in hate with my body chemistry.

 

--

Old Review

WET: still lemon verbena. I was hoping for something more complex. Please change!

 

DRYING: the lemon is still very much there, but other things are coming to the surface -- okay, lightly floral. I'm getting a bit more of the smoke here, but not as much as i'd like.

 

DRYDOWN: elegantly floral lemon pledge. oh, wait, there we go -- vanilla/coconut with apricot, all of a sudden, without any sort of escalation or warning. Rather sweeter than anticipated, although I suppose that was a bit silly of me.

 

Verdict: I'll let it be for a bit, but probably sell/swap.

PRECONCEPTIONS: I had high hopes for this scent - envisioned something light and fresh, anise-y, but not too sharp. Something for daywear.

 

IN BOTTLE: citrus! goodlord. and minty, too, and something vaguely anise-y... but mostly citrus.

 

WET: citrus. herby herby citrus. I am not happy.

 

DRYING: the drydown makes it allll worthwhile. the citrus fades, although it doesn't disappear entirely. the scent is still cool, but it doesn't have the citrusy bite it had in the first few moments. something a little richer is coming out underneath..

 

DRYDOWN: people give you funny looks if you wander down the street inhaling deeply from your wrist. This scent is exactly what I was looking for, both from La Fee Verte and to fill a 'daywear' spot in my collection. it's cool and subtle, and lightly creamy with a hint of unobtrusive spice. I can smell a bit of the hyssop too; there remains a herby current that makes it complex.

 

Perfect for me. I absolutely love it. SO glad this was a 10mL.

So, umm... this stuff works. Quite well, and in unexpected ways.

 

To me it smells rather minty and herbal, not quite zingy but definately a bright scent... although I wasn't really concentrating because I was hurriedly applying it in an airplane bathroom (long story). I was meeting a group of people who are distant but important to me, and wanted to find some new pathways in relation to them. I applied it to my heart, throat, fore and crown chakras and concentrated on those people and going in different directions, *any* different directions, with them.

It was almost immediately effective: a few highly improbable and distinctly new changes occurred with a couple of people. I was surprised at how effective it was, and it actually ended up staying with me for the whole weekend, that sense of new paths and openings stretching out before me - for better or for worse. All I asked for was new options, I didn't specify *how*...

 

If you want change, if you want freshness, this is very effective. Just, um, be careful what you wish for.

Grrr. I was so enthused about this, just becaues of the deity it was named after...

 

In the Bottle: distinctly grapefruit, a little sharp, but softened by something a little more powdery and sweet. Not a bowl-you-over scent, but it has personality.

 

Wet on Skin: all right, that's a bit rounder. The grapefruit is still prominent but it's sweetened noticeably by something fruity this time -- I guess that would the satsuma-y note.The citrus is most prominent, but the florals make a nice 'backdrop'

 

Drydown: This scent is actually quite lovely. The sharp jump-out scent of the citrus mellows into the florals, and if I try really hard I can sort of smell the tea base, although to me it smells a little bit more creamy than the notes would suggest. It's quite subtle, even elegant, and I can see this working beautifully for a casual night out in the summer.

 

As beautiful as it is, however, it's just too feminine for me. It's a little bit sweet for my nose, and florals just turn me off. Floraly gals will love this, though.

If you add funds like -now- (as in today) they should be clear by 5PM on the 28th, which is when the halloween update goes live and the LE's are still up. If you act fast it shouldn't be a problem.

 

That's what I'm doing so it better work!

 

 

my question is on timing.

 

and unexpected limited update (black moon!) is up until the 29th.

 

my paypal account is empty, and by the time the funds cleared, the update will be gone.

 

is it all right to pay with paypal by e-check to "hold" my place in the order even though the funds for the e-check won't clear until after the 29th of august? or am I out of luck?

again, I have the world's worst nose, so this review will be almost all impressions. Bear with me.

 

In bottle -- I took a chance on this one and bought a 5mL unsniffed. I opened the cap, and immediately thought 'well that was a bad idea.' I smell bergamot like no tomorrow. It's got a strange, slightly bittersweet quality to it but at the same time it's a little sharp - definately hard to pin down.

 

Wet on skin -- figgy stuff is coming out more on me, and it's spicy. I'm not usually a fan of spicy scents, and the cocoa is starting to come out more but it's not chocolatey-sweet, which is good. It's still got a little of that sharp quality, but that's mellowing...

 

Drying and drydown -- oh my, I can't stop smelling my wrist. There's vanilla, but it's not pillowy-soft; I smell tonka, which I absolutely love, but it hasn't lost that spicy, slightly bizarre quality. It's sweet-ish too, but not syrupy, because usually I can't abide fruitsmellies. Surprisingly, I love this one.

 

Verdict -- hoarding this. I wnted more spicy/unusual scents to balance out my current smells-like-a-confectionery collection, and this is absolutely it. I think I may like it even more than 13.

In the Imp -- holy catfish, coconut. and butter in there too, with maybe the teeniest thread of cocoa. But mostly it's incredibly strong coconut. I can smell it from a foot away.

Wet -- again with the coconut -- and wow, that's some alcohol (not listed, so I think my skin is just doing a number on this one). I'm getting a bit of spicy-sweet cassia as it proceeds, too... and something else I can't define, perhaps it's the cocoa. no cake yet.

Drydown -- this burns my wrists a bit. Maybe some cinnamon in there somewhere? there's definately something a little bit spicy that's making itself felt, and it's not just cassia. very sweet, as well. the coconut has faded, and is more of a base now, although it's still hanging around a bit. As it dries I'm getting a little bit of the angelfood, but that's very much on the 'bottom' of the scent.

20 minutes later -- coconut has all but disappeared, and the cassia dominates. again, a hint of cinnamon, and the cocoa is coming through now. I can only smell the angelfood when I'm looking for it, if that makes any sense. Extremely sweet, not particularly fruity, and just a little bit spicy. There's something buttery about it without being buttery, if that makes sense -- it has the roundness and warmth that butter gives, but it's not creamy at all.

Conclusion -- nice, but not one I think I'll reach for often. I prefer MB: Closet.


ETA: oh my god it never leaves. It had decent throw to start with... and I put it on three hours before I went to bed last night, and I woke up over an hour ago, and it's still going strong. It survived a washing, too.

IN BOTTLE: Lovely, although not quite my thing... certainly crisp, with a hint of sweet.

 

WET: ooh, ozone! it smells fresh and a little sharp, and the bamboo is in there somewhere too. Quite light. Again, not quite my style but certainly light and lovely. but *then*...

 

DRYDOWN: ...soap. Nice soap, lightly bamboo-scented soap; but soap nontheless. I think I'm the only one who got this. My skin just *hates* this scent.

 

After a few minutes it gets slightly less soapy, and I can smell the 'crisp mountain air' bit with a hint of floraly sweetness beneath... but it's just like rather expensive soap. On the up side, I smell obsessively clean...

 

This scent has very little staying power. It vanished in about half an hour. Someone else with friendlier skin chemistry will appreciate this much more than I do.

Preconceived notions: I'm not a florals gal, and I don't like heavy perfumes, so I didn't think this one would be for me.

 

IN THE VIAL: I was right. This one is waaay too floraly for me. it's heady and saturated with magnolias and orchids and very dark. The scent just jumps at you out of the bottle in a way that no other of the (few) scents I've tried has. Down, girl!

 

WET: please calm down please calm down and it does, a little bit. the persistent bloominess of the first sniff fades a little, and a huge amount of rose wafts up, but the magnolia is still hanging around. I gave it a few minutes but it really didn't seem to be mellowing much. Has great throw, I'll say that -- I had to wash it off because even with my arms at my sides I could smell it, and I really didn't want to.

 

VERDICT: if you love heady florals, this is for you. Hopefully someone will swap it for something nilla-y or aquatic for me!

 

 

ETA typos. typos. they are not my friends.

Preconceived notions: I thought I'd love this scent, 'nilla and lavender and leather and all that. I was quite keen to try it, and when it came as a frimp I was so grateful.

 

In the bottle: inhaled once and jerked the thing away from my nose. Good Gods, I don't even know what that smells like but all I know is I can't stand to be near it let alone putting it on my skin. I took another tentative sniff once the vial was safely capped, and did the same thing. Something spicy - maybe the carnation? slaps you in the face. There's a bit of vanilla, but it's covered all over by this strange vicious dry-green smell that I absolutely can't stand. Smells to me like men's cologne that's trying too hard. Swap pile!

Mmm... got this in an imp swap and I'm *so* glad it's going to be reintroduced on Friday the 13 this october... I'm buying up 3 bottles!

 

In the Bottle: holy white chocolate tangerine. I can smell something slightly spicy and herbaceous underneath, so it's not just pure sweet, but mostly it's just a creamy chocolate orangey smell. Not saccharine or unpleasantly sugary though.

 

Wet: still lots of chocolate, but it's moving back to make room for other things. the tangerine is more prominent now, but my wrists don't just smell like oranges - there's something swirly and a bit floral but not quite sweet in the background. I usually am not a fruity/florals gal, but this one is grounded in something not-too-sweet, almost a bit spicy...

 

Drydown: this one wants to make me eat my wrists. Not because it's so foody, but just because I want *more of this scent I need to inhale it right now*. the chocolate and tangerine "frame" the scent, if I can use weird visual metphors, but on my skin something a little bit dry and a little bit smoky-floral surfaces, overlaid nicely by the sweetness of the tangerine. it's almost like the chocolate takes what would otherwise be quite a sharp scent and mellows it out, makes it creamy. It's not actually a super-sweet scent on me, once it's settled down a little.

 

LATER: this thing has stayed nicely. I've been doing a lot of moving stuff, working with my hands etc. and my wrists still smell nummy. hasn't changed much since the initial drydown, but maybe a little less creamy. I didn't expect to like this scent, but now I'll be stocking up on it for sure.

Does anyone have suggestions for room-spray scents? One doesn't want it to be too heavy/sexy/overpowering, and in deference to my suitemates sweet or foody are also probably bad ideas... what does everyone else use?

 

EDIT: D'oh, duplicate post. :/

this is my first BPAL scent, and man am I glad it's a bottle and I have an imp on the way.

At first sniff I thought 'woah! berries!' they come at you like a wall of fragrant juicy-sweet, with something warmer and butter-sweet underneath. On the skin, the berries recede slowly, and the yummy bourbon notes emerge. Complementing the bourbon is this rich sweet scent that I suppose must be the buttercream. Over time, the scent dwindles, to leave a hint of rich sort-of-but-not-quite-vanilla something that must be the red velvet cake, lingering on the skin with faintest traces of the bourbon. Not my signature scent, but I'm definately glad I have a lot of it

 

 

ETA: 0.0 this really is monster bait! men just don't leave me alone when I wear this. and y'all told me Snake Oil was sex in a bottle...